A longstanding problem in the utility industry is the economic reading of utility meters. The reading of such meter installations presents a number of problems, such as the inconvenience to the homeowner as well as the inconvenience to the meter reader when the homeowner is not present at the time of the individual meter reading.
In addition, manual meter reading has a significant disadvantage in that it requires a large amount of manpower, leading to significant expense. Further, meter readers may erroneously record the numeral values of the meter register or the homeowner may not be present at the time the meter reading is to take place. In order to solve the personnel requirements of physical meter reading, a large number of remote meter reading units have been developed. These meter reading units may be, for example, an automatic meter reading (AMR) unit. The meter register comprises a sensor to detect the rotation of movement of the components within the meter to generate an electrical count of the volume of commodity that flows through the meter. The recorded data from the meter is broadcast by a communication device of the AMR unit using an RF signal. In such types of systems, the meter measurement is broadcast from the communication device using an RF signal that can be read from a remote location. In these remote meter reading systems, the antenna of the communication device typically extends slightly above the pit lid such that the radio frequency signals generated by the antenna can be transmitted away from the meter pit. In many situations, the pit lid is formed from a metallic material, such as iron, that significantly inhibits the transmission of radio frequency signals therethrough.
Some meter pits are shallow and do not provide sufficient room to properly place AMR in their customary vertical arrangement. In these situations, the AMR device may be placed on the ground where it may be damaged. Additionally, the transmission of the signals from the meter may suffer as the AMR unit may located too deep within the pit resulting in the attenuation of the RF signal.
Accordingly, an improved pit mount interface (PMI) device is desirable.